Car Review: 2006 Chevrolet Corvette C6

He holds to a meticulous 110 kilometres an hour speed limit no matter how open the road or powerful the car.

So the fact he blasted by me at 150 per, his mouth grinning from ear to ear like some demented circus clown, is more than a bit out of character.

It might have something to do with the fact that he was driving the C6, Chevrolet’s latest rendition of its all-conquering Corvette franchise. Sleeker than ever, as brutally fast as a cruise missile and still powered by that classic small-block Bowtie V-8, the new C6 is as intoxicating a “made in America” argument as there is.

Take that 6.0-litre (up from 5.7-L thanks to bigger pistons) V-8. It’s rated at 400 h.p., which by most historic standards is quite a lot. But in these days of 400 h.p. Jags and 507 h.p. BMW M5 sedans, it sounds a bit paltry for the “ultimate” statement in North American sports cars.

But the C6 is also blessed with bags of torque, 400 ft.-lb. of the stuff to be exact, and they kick in at admirably low r.p.m. Trundle the ‘Vette around at 2,000 r.p.m. and besides that ever-present, distinctly North American V-8 rumble, there’s the lingering impression that tire-shredding acceleration is but a half-stab away. Especially when mated to the four-speed automatic.

Speaking of the convertible, General Motors engineers must be given kudos for the incredible rigidity of the C6’s revised chassis. Some 127 millimetres shorter than its predecessor, GM’s news release also claims it’s lighter than the C5 and more crashworthy.

Even more impressive is that the C6’s “backbone” of hydroformed steel rails and cored composite floors feels even more rigid than before. The open-top ‘Vette may not quite have the carved-from-a-single-block-of-granite feel of a Mercedes SL500, but it’s the next best thing and will never, ever be the flexi-flyer the two generations-old C4 Corvette was.

Thanks to its performance-oriented traction control system, the C5 sets new standards for road holding, easily the equal of all those Euro-trashy Porsches and Ferraris.

“It’s a much more pleasing ride,” says Mike Neal, ride and handling development engineer for the 2005 Corvette. “It’s less touchy, it’s less tuggy, it’s better isolated, it’s quieter for road noise. It is all of those things and still a better-handling car.”

Although all who laid eyes on the new Corvette admired its muscular curves and wedge shape, the interior is still, well, a bit too North American.

I also expected more from the Corvette’s gauge set. There’s little to denigrate with its general layout or its legibility, but it’s more than a tad plain.

The one area where Chevrolet decided to go all high-tech is the keyless entry system — it only requires that you have the keyfob in your pocket to open the doors and start the engine.

There’s much to recommend the new Corvette. It’s faster than ever and more sophisticated. And it has what every sports car buyer lusts for: the unquestioned ability to completely corrupt.